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Research paper example essay prompt: Hackers - 801 words

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Hackers Computer Hacking Explosive growth in the
computer industry over the last decade has made
new technologies cheaper and simpler for the
average person to own. As result, computers play
an intricate part in our daily lives. The areas in
which computers affect life are infinite, ranging
from entertainment to finances. If anything were
to happen to these precious devices, the world
would be chaotic. Computer hacking is a dangerous
crime that could total chaos for the entire world.
Some hackers act on revenge or just impersonal
mischievousness.

But whatever their motives, their
deeds can be destructive to a person's computer.
An attack by a hacker not only affects the victim,
but others as well. One case involving a notorious
hacker named Kevin Mitnick did just that. Mitnick
is a very intelligent man. He is 31 and pending
trial for computer fraud. When he was a teenager,
he used his knowledge of computers to break into
the North American Defense Command computer.

Had
he not been stopped, he could have caused some
real national defense problems for the United
States (Sussman 66). Other small time hackers
affect people just as much by stealing or giving
away copyrighted software, which causes the prices
of software to increase, thus increasing the price
the public must pay for the programs. Companies
reason that if they have a program that can be
copied onto a disc then they will lose a certain
amount of their profit. People will copy it and
give to friends or pass it around on the Internet.
To compensate, they will raise the price of disc
programs. CD Rom programs cost more to make but
are about the same price as disc games.

Companies
don't loose money on them because it is difficult
to copy a CD Rom and impossible to transmit over
the Internet (Facts on File #28599 1). Hackers
have hit one company in particular, American
On-line, hard. The feud started when a disgruntled
ex-employee used his inside experience to help
fellow hackers disrupt services offered by AOL
(Alan 37). His advice became popular and he
spawned a program called AOHell. This program, in
turn, created many copycats.

They all portray
their creators as gangsters, and one of the
creator's names is Da Chronic. Many also feature
short clips of rap music (Cook 36). These programs
make it easy for people with a little hacker
knowledge to disrupt AOL. These activities include
gaining access to free accounts, gaining access to
other people's credit card numbers, and destroying
chat rooms. The loopholes for hackers and
freeloaders may be closing, however.

America
On-line is reluctant to discuss specifics of its
counterattack for fear of giving miscreants
warning. However, many software trading rooms are
being shut down almost as soon as they are formed.
Others are often visited by 'narks' posing as
traders. New accounts started with phony credit
cards are being cut off more promptly, and other
card-verification schemes are in place. AOL has
now developed the ability to resurrect a screen
name that had been deleted by the hackers, and is
rumored to have call-tracing technologies in the
works (Alan 37). Hacking is not just a problem in
America.

All across the world hackers plague
anyone they can, and they're getting better at it.
In Europe they're known as Phreakers
(technologically sophisticated young computer
hackers). These self-proclaimed Phreakers have
made their presence felt all the way up the
political ladder. They managed to steal personal
expense accounts of the European Commission
President Jacques. They revealed some embarrassing
overspending. They said it was done to protect the
public from wasting their tax money.

The European
judicial system sentenced them to six months in
prison (PC Weekly 12). This punishment might seem
harsh, but not to Bill Clinton. He has appointed a
task force to try to enforce laws on the Internet.
The new laws would try to strengthen copyright
laws by monitoring information being transferred
and if a violation occurred, a $5,000 fine would
be implemented (Facts On File #28599 1). Clinton
thinks this will protect businesses as well as
consumers by keeping copyrighted material at a
reasonable price. The only exception would be that
libraries would have the right to copy for
purposes of preservation (Phelps 75).

Some people
view hackers as the Robin Hoods of the Internet.
They wrestle with the heavyweight businesses to
try to gain leverage for individuals. But in doing
so they make businesses increase prices to pay for
security. It is an ongoing cycle. Many
anti-hacking groups think they are gaining some
ground on hackers by making more sophisticated
software. But like a virus that becomes immune too
quickly, the hackers find another way.

The
loopholes of the hacker are infinite. Just as one
cannot leave their shadow behind on a sunny day,
the hacker will be around as long as there is
something to hack. Sociology.